Overtourism, closed number hypothesis for the Trevi Fountain: 2 euro for 30 minutes

Too many people, too many all at once, and too many people bivouacking there. Rome is preparing to face the Jubilee of 2025 by protecting one of its most famous and visited monuments (by 8-12 thousand people a day): the Campidoglio is working on the hypothesis of limiting access to the Trevi Fountain. To get to the actual tiered 'basin' one will need a nominal reservation and will have to pay a two euro ticket that will allow a thirty-minute visit. The closed number will only apply to tourists, while for residents there will be no restrictions. A measure to curb mass tourism that follows the line already adopted by Venice, where an entrance fee has been experimented.

The Councillor for Tourism and Major Events of Roma Capitale Alessandro Onorato had spoken in the past of a restriction on access to the most famous of the Roman fountains. In recent months, the councillor has made inspections and has had confirmation, especially during the summer months in which tourism in Rome has still been growing (at Ferragosto 1.623 million visitors, +5.86%), of an overcrowding of visitors. Hence, the idea of the Trevi Fountain with a limited number of visitors has been accelerated. Onorato spoke about it with the mayor Roberto Gualtieri, who agrees: 'We are reasoning on the hypothesis of making the Trevi Fountain visitable by reservation and with a closed number, a very concrete hypothesis that we have decided to study and deepen because the situation is becoming technically very difficult to manage. The local police officers also tell us this all the time: there is a concentration of people that makes it difficult to properly enjoy the monument and is also often a source of degradation,' said the mayor.

On Instagram, the councillor for tourism of Roma Capitale gave further details: 'We have to make tourism more compatible with the lives of Romans and integrate it into the everyday life of our city. One of these, which for the moment is an idea, but we are reasoning on how to make it operational, is to close and quota the entrances to one of the most beautiful monuments in the world. We want to make the visit to the Trevi Fountain truly an experience, and not a chaotic jostling between one tourist and another to find the best angle for the selfie'. How will it work? 'An electronic reservation, free for Romans, a symbolic 2 euro ticket. Money reinvested to create jobs, because at that point we will invest stewards and hostesses who could regulate entry and exit perhaps for a 30-minute slot'.

The technical solutions are to be studied and will be discussed at technical tables involving the many stakeholders, starting with the Capitoline Superintendency. If the model works, it could be replicated in other places in the city.

The hypothesis of adopting a formula that has already been tried and tested at the Pantheon (where the entrance fee was introduced on 1 July 2023 by decision of the Ministry of Culture and which last year recorded more than 5 million visitors) appeals to the Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè: "We must make our wealth available, so it is fine to charge and create a booking mechanism, and not a closed number, to regulate flows and provide better and sustainable services to tourists". But what is important is that the municipality 'then has the ability to guarantee the necessary controls and respect for the rules'.